Tag Archives: Gary Mitchell

On Saturday afternoon the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers faced off against the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the third and final game of their season opening homestand. The Timber Rattlers, who were 0-2 going into Saturday’s contest, put the ball in the hands of right hander Brandon Williamson, while the Kernels countered with lefty Ryan Crowley.

Not wasting any time, the Timber Rattlers struck first as center fielder Chadwin Stang recorded his first hit of the young season, a double, which led off the bottom of the 1st inning. Two batters later, Stang would reach home on a Jason Rogers double. Rogers, who was hitting in the designated hitter position on Saturday, would also steal third, but would find himself stranded as the next two hitters struck out.

The Kernels would answer with a run of their own in the top of the 3rd thanks to a solo homerun from shortstop Trevor Hairgrove, tying the game at one run a piece.

The Kernels would take the lead, 2-1, in the top of the 5th when center fielder Chevy Clarke singled, stole second, was advance to third on a grounder from catcher Carlos Lugo, and eventually scoring on a passed ball during Hairgrove’s at bat. The Rattlers answered back in the bottom of the 5th on a solo homer from Stang, tying the score at 2 a piece.

The 6th inning would see the Kernels create a run out of no hits as both third baseman Kaleb Cowart and designated hitter Frazier Hall drew walks. Cowart, who stole 2nd during Hall’s at bat, would be advanced to third on a fielder’s choice which removed Hall from the base paths, and placed first baseman Gary Mitchell at 1st. During Clarke’s at bat, Mitchell broke for 2nd, reaching easily as catcher Tyler Roberts’ throw got past second baseman Greg Hopkins, allowing Cowart to steal home ahead of the throw to the plate. This brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Kernels.

The Rattlers answered back in the 7th when right fielder John Dishon drew a walk to start off the inning which allowed Stang to reach 1st on a fielder’s choice in the next at bat. A Hopkins grounder would advance Stang to second, and he would score off of a Roger’s RBI single to again tie the game, now at 3 a piece.

The 9th would see both teams slugging it out. The Kernels would manufacture 3 runs thanks to a Hairgrove RBI single that scored Clarke from third and a double from center fielder Ryan Jones which would score Hairgrove and second baseman Kevin Mosequit. The Kernels were now in the drivers seat with a lead of 6-3 with only 3 outs remaining, but it would not be enough to complete the series sweep.

With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Dishon walked, eventually scoring on a Stang RBI double bringing the score to 6-4. Hopkins and Rogers would both walk to load the bases, still with only one out. A single from left fielder Ben McMahan would score both Stang and Hopkins, and in the process, tie the game at 6 a piece.

First baseman Parker Berberet would bury the dagger with a walkoff single that scored Roger’s from third and gave the Timber Rattlers their first win of the 2012 season.

The Rattlers will return home to Time Warner Cable Field on Thursday April 12th as they take on Peoria. Game time is set for 6:35 pm.

Game at a Glance:

Player of the Game: Chadwin Stang – 3/4 with 2 doubles, 1 homerun and 2 RBIs

On Friday evening, fans in attendance at Time Warner Cable Field were treated to something special: the first Timber Rattler homerun of the season, and the team wasted very little time getting it done.

With the first two batters retired in the bottom of the 1st inning, first baseman Jason Rogers hit a bomb to left field off of Kernels starting pitcher Mike Clevinger that left the park with room to spare. The shot gave the Timber Rattlers their first lead of the season as they pulled ahead of the Kernels 1-0 in the early going.

Timber Rattlers starter Drew Gagnon then went on to protect his teams lead by striking out each of the next 6 batters he faced. While this should have gotten him out of the 2nd and 3rd innings, the 3rd strike that he threw to Kernels’ first baseman Kevin Mosequit got past Timber Rattlers catcher Parker Berberet allowing Mosequit to reach base and the 3rd inning to continue.

The error would prove to be costly as left fielder Ryan Jones would be walked in the next at bat, and third baseman Kaleb Cowart would follow that up with a single which allowed Mosequit to score and tie the game at 1 run a piece.

The Kernels added to their lead in the 6th after right fielder Gary Mitchell hit a ground rule double to left to start the inning. Mitchell advanced to third on a grounder by center fielder Chevy Clarke, and eventually scored on an RBI grounder by Kernels catcher Abel Baker.

The Timber Rattlers answered back in the bottom of the 7th when Brandon Macias drew a walk to start the frame. He would steal 2nd during shortstop Adrian Williams at-bat, and would eventually score on a Williams double bring the score to a 2-2 tie.

Unfortunately for the Timber Rattlers, the Kernels where not done yet. Baker drew a walk from Timber Rattlers reliever Mark Williams to start off the 9th. He would be replaced on the base paths by pinch runner Andy Workman who eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Mosequit to put the team back in the drivers seat, with a score of 3-2.

The Timber Rattlers were unable to get any offense going in the bottom of the 9th, and all 3 batters were retired in order.

The season opening series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels wraps up this afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field with a 1:05 pm start. The Timber Rattlers will send righty Brandon Williamson to the mound to face Cedar Rapids’ lefty Ryan Crowley.